Chapter 14 #3
“My name is Luke Alexander Courtright. But, Dad,” Luke said as he looked over at Leo. Everyone let out a collective gasp at hearing Luke call Leo dad. Ainsleigh and Lillian’s hands went to their heart as they gave an awe expression.
“Yeah, bud?” Leo asked and looked at Luke as he waited for him to ask his question.
“You didn’t tell me their names,” Luke said, and everyone let out a low chuckle.
“Oh yeah. I didn’t, did I?” Leo said as he introduced everyone.
“You met my mom, Lillian. That’s my dad, Sawyer, my sister, Ainsleigh and her husband Gentry, my brother Brooks, and my brother Holden,” Leo said as he went around the table so Luke could carefully follow who was who.
“And the baby, Dad. You forgot her name,” Luke said as he stared over at the sleeping baby propped on Gentry’s shoulder.
“That’s your cousin, Olivia. We call her Livvy for short,” Leo explained. Luke turned his head to the side as he took in the sight of Gentry holding Olivia.
“You’re her husband?” Luke asked Gentry as he pointed over to Ainsleigh.
“That’s right,” Gentry agreed.
“My mom said if she got a husband that would make him my stepdad, and I told her I didn’t like that idea,” Luke honestly said, and I looked down in embarrassment as my cheeks grew hot.
I felt Leo’s eyes on me as I looked over at him. The smile he had on his face as he introduced Luke now gone and replaced with a scowl.
“Why don’t you like that idea, bud?” Leo asked as he broke his stare at me and looked down at our son.
“I don’t want another dad. I have you,” Luke honestly replied. Out of the mouth of babes.
I didn’t take my eyes off Leo as I stared at him to gauge his reaction. He smiled softly at Luke as he processed his reply.
“You’ll always have me,” Leo promised as he looked back at me with a pointed gaze.
“How about we say grace so we can dig in?” Sawyer suggested, breaking the tension between Leo and me.
Sawyer thanked God for the food and blessings in their lives and included Luke, making my heart happy and my nerves settle a bit.
After grace was said, I went to scoop out some food for Luke, but Leo beat me to it. He placed a little bit of everything on Luke’s plate, one chicken finger, a small scoop of mac and cheese, and a small scoop of green beans.
“Can I have a biscuit too, Dad?” Luke asked as he picked up his fork and waited patiently for Leo.
“Of course,” Leo said as he picked up a biscuit with a pair of tongs and placed it on Luke’s plate.
“Lillian, what kind of oil did you use when you made the chicken tenders?” I asked, immediately regretting not telling Leo about Luke’s allergy before now.
“Avocado oil. Why?” Lillian asked, her face and voice full of concern.
“Luke is allergic to peanuts,” I told her, and Leo snapped his head in my direction.
“You didn’t tell me that,” Leo said, his voice sounding panicked.
“I didn’t think. I’ve been the one cooking his meals, and could control the situation. I’m sorry for not telling you until now,” I said embarrassed by the whole situation. I’d have told Leo when he got him on his own.
“How bad is his allergy?” Leo asked in a concerned voice.
“He swells and breaks out in hives. He has an EpiPen. I carry it everywhere I go. The school has one for him as well when he goes. I keep one in his backpack when I take him to my parents’ house as well,” I explained.
“Can I get one for when he’s with me?” Leo asked, the scowl gone and replaced with worry.
“Absolutely. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I told him.
When I had in fact told him in the letters that I wrote.
I told him all about the terrifying situation we’d gone through and even included a photo for Leo to see just how bad his reaction was, but he’d never gotten the letters, and I honestly hadn’t thought about relaying that again to him since in my mind I’d already told him.
“How old are you, Luke?” Ainsleigh asked, and I was grateful she spoke when she did to change the subject.
I made my plate, but didn’t really eat, my stomach in knots at being in this home. I felt like an outsider at this table. Like I shouldn’t be here to share this moment with his family. It wasn’t that they didn’t make me feel welcome because they had. I was just too far in my mind.
“Carolina,” Ainsleigh’s voice called and snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Sorry about that,” I said as I picked up a bite of green beans and shoveled them into my mouth.
“How are you likin’ bein’ back in Haven Valley?” she repeated.
“I’m happy to be back home,” I told them honestly.
“What brought you back?” Ainsleigh pried, and I tensed. No one but my parents, Lexi, and Neil knew the truth to that answer.
“I needed a change,” I responded, hoping that she bought my lie.
She eyed me questioningly but didn’t ask for any further explanation, and for that I was grateful. I wasn’t ready to bare that secret just yet. Hopefully, I never had to.
“You like cookin’ I hear?” Holden asked. As we ate dinner, and I diverted my eyes to everyone around the table, I noticed that Holden had moved his gaze between Olivia and Luke. The protective look in his eyes put me at ease.
“Yeah, I do. Mom and Grandma let me cook all the time. I especially love making cookies,” Luke said between bites of food.
“Cookies. Now you’re speaking my language,” Holden said as he rubbed his stomach, making Luke laugh.
“I can teach you sometime,” Luke suggested, and I couldn’t stop a smile from forming due to him feeling comfortable enough to make future plans with his uncle.
“I’d love that,” Holden said with a genuine smile.
Glancing over at Leo, he had a smile on his face as he looked down at our son. He looked over at me, and I quickly looked away, having been caught.
We finished dinner and stayed around the table, his brothers taking turns asking Luke all sorts of questions; a genuine curiosity at getting to know Luke.
I heard my phone ringing in my purse, and excused myself from the table.
Hurriedly, I dug the phone out of my purse, and an unknown number flashed on my screen, causing my blood to run cold.
I clicked the side button on the phone to send the call to voicemail.
Whoever was stalking me had never called my phone before.
I wanted to grab Luke and hurry to the comfort of my home, but as I turned back to the table, he was animatedly telling a story about chasing the chickens at my parents’ house, and I realized I couldn’t take him away from this time with his family.
Olivia started crying, and Luke paused his story and looked over at her.
He pushed himself back from the table and got up from the chair.
He squeezed his little body between the chairs and the island and around the table to stand in front of Gentry, who was bouncing the baby on his shoulder to calm her.
Gentry shifted his hold on the baby so that he could hold her down in front of Luke. I pulled up my camera on my phone, something in the air telling me that I’d want to capture this moment.
Luke stared down at the baby and put his finger on her hand, her tiny fingers latching around his finger, and he let her hold it as he started to softly sing to her the song I sung to him when he was smaller.
Ainsleigh gasped as she turned to watch Luke’s reaction with her daughter, and tears streamed down her cheeks mimicking my own.
I snapped some photos as he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.
He’d never been around babies all that much, but it was like something in him knew to be gentle with her without me having to tell him.
I switched to recording him singing the final line of the lullaby.
By the time he was finished, Olivia had settled back to sleep, her pacifier moving in her mouth as she soothed herself.
“You’re a baby whisperer, Luke. I may need you to come do that when she has a rough day again,” Ainsleigh said to Luke as he gently pulled his finger away from her tiny grasp.
“My mom used to sing it to me. Sometimes she still does when I’m upset. I don’t mind singing it to her. She’s cute,” Luke said as he rubbed his finger gently over Olivia’s soft hair.
“How about we go to the barn, and I can show you the horses?” Leo suggested as Luke made his way back around the table.
“Horses?” Luke asked in a high-pitched voice.
“Yeah, buddy. Do you want to go meet my horse?” Leo asked with a hopeful tone. I leaned against the island and smiled at his excitement.
His little hand rested in his dad’s as they walked around the table and out the back door.
Holden and Brooks got up from the table and carried their dishes over to the sink before they kissed their mama on the side of her head and thanked her for dinner. She leaned in to each of them and then shooed them with a hand towel as she started to clear the rest of the dishes.
“How can I help?” I asked Lillian.
“You don’t have to help. Just sit here with me and keep me company,” she told me as she carried some plates over to the sink.
My parents raised me better than that. I went over to the table and carried the bowls holding the food over to the island.
Ainsleigh got up from the table when I walked back to grab the last of the dishes and walked over to the sink to help her mom.
“You want to go down in the den with me and watch the baseball game?” Sawyer asked Gentry who happily obliged, leaving me in the room with Ainsleigh and Lillian.
I didn’t know where she kept her Tupperware, so I leaned against the island as I watched Ainsleigh and Lillian take care of the dinner dishes.
“What are your intentions with my brother?” Ainsleigh asked while she washed the plate in her hand.
“Ainsleigh,” Lillian warned, and Ainsleigh looked over at her with a pointed stare.
“No, it’s okay, Lillian. I don’t have any intentions with your brother other than coparenting with him,” I honestly said.
Even though I secretly longed for a family unit for Luke, I knew that was far off.
I had to focus on my troubles and get them sorted before I even thought about a romantic relationship.